This invention relates to lawn mowers in general and, more particularly, to systems for controlling the cutting assemblies of lawn tractors.
It is known to provide a lawn mower with an electrical or mechanical interlock system to prevent a mower from being shifted to reverse with the cutting assembly operating. Some conventional interlock systems shut the lawn mower completely down when it is shifted into reverse. Other systems simply prevent the mower from being shifted into reverse while the cutting assembly is engaged. These require the user to disengage the cutting assembly prior to shifting the mower into reverse. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved interlock system for disengaging a cutting assembly when a lawn tractor is shifted into a reverse mode.
The present invention provides an apparatus for engaging and disengaging a cutter of a vehicle. The apparatus includes a shifter for selecting a direction of travel of the vehicle. A clutch controls transmission of power to the cutter. Means for operating the clutch disengages the power from the cutter when the shifter is operated to select a reverse direction for the vehicle. The clutch operating means does not engage power to the cutter when the shifter is operated to select a forward direction for the vehicle.
According to one aspect, the present invention is an apparatus for engaging and disengaging a clutch assembly used with a cutter assembly housed within a cutting deck mounted on a chassis of a lawn tractor having an engine also mounted on the chassis and operable to provide power to a plurality of tractor wheels to which the chassis is mounted and to a cutting blade included in the cutter assembly and enclosed by the cutting deck. The apparatus for engaging and disengaging the clutch assembly comprises: a clutch bracket mounted to the chassis of the lawn tractor; a deck engage lever movably connected to the clutch bracket; a deck engage bracket movably connected to the deck engage lever and to a deck control cable having a deck control cable first end that is operatively connected to the clutch assembly; a release latch connected to the deck engage bracket and to a reverse control cable having a reverse control cable first end that is movably joined to a transmission shift lever that is operatively connected with a transmission of the lawn tractor; and a switch housing secured to the clutch bracket, the switch housing including a starter interlock switch operable within an electrical circuit utilized to supply power to a starter that is operatively connected to the engine, the starter interlock switch including an actuator having a retracted position and an extended position, the transmission shift lever having a reverse position and a non-reverse position, the release latch having a latched position and an unlatched position, the deck engage bracket having neutral position and an active position, the deck engage lever having an engaged position and a disengaged position, and the clutch assembly having a drive position and a release position.
When the deck engage lever is in the disengaged position and the transmission shift lever is in the non-reverse state, the deck engage bracket is latched to the deck engage lever, and when the deck engage lever is subsequently moved to the engaged state, the deck engage lever carries the release latch to the latched position and the deck engage bracket to the active position, thereby connecting power from the engine to the clutch assembly and causing the clutch assembly to be in the driven position.
Additionally, when the transmission shift lever is moved from the non-reverse state to the reverse state while the clutch assembly is in the driven state, the reverse control cable moves the release latch to the unlatched position and unlatches the deck engage bracket from the deck engage lever, permitting the deck engage bracket to move, under a spring force created by a first spring and a second spring included in the clutch assembly, to the neutral position, thereby causing the clutch assembly to change from the drive position to the release position and disconnecting power from the engine to the clutch assembly.